1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to determining the status of a light or lamp and, more particularly, to remote determination of lamp or light status utilizing fiber optics.
2. Description of the Related Art
In both vehicles, both automotive and aircraft, and in various facilities, interior and exterior illumination has become increasingly important. However, in many cases, such as with vehicles, exterior illumination, especially exterior indicators like brake lights, are not visible to the operator or passengers. Also, in some cases, such as with amusement parks, there may be thousands upon thousands of lights used for illumination and for safety. In either case, it can be difficult, time consuming, or both to determine the status of the light or lamp.
Typically, certain electronics to measure the status of the lights or lamps are used. These measurement electronics operate in a variety of manners, such as, for example, measuring the resistance of the illumination device. The measurement electronics essentially interpret the state of the illumination device and report the state of the illumination device to a display.
The electronic interpretation techniques, elegant as they may be, do have a number of problems. For example, most systems do not correctly interpret intermittent operation or partial intensity. Also, these electronic interpretation techniques are highly subject to failure. Both examples may be very costly in terms of dollar value and human life if a failure were to occur on an aircraft. Also, with all electric measurements that correspond to these interpretation techniques, the electronics consume power. If there are number of illumination devices, then the power consumption can be quite large.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and/or apparatus to improve the measurement of operation of illumination devices that addresses at least some of the problems associated with conventional methods and apparatuses for measuring the operation of an illumination device.